Top 25 U.S. courses as rated by pace of play in 2016

Thanks to caddies, spaced out tee times and a compact routing, Harbour Town was a top play for pace of play in 2016 according to reviews. (Brandon Tucker/Golf Advisor)

What's the recipe for the seemingly-elusive quality of exceptional pace of play?

It can be a multitude of factors, ranging from spacing between tee times to how difficult the course is set up.

We looked at your 100,000-plus reviews in 2016 to determine which courses most consistently earned high pace of play ratings. The results are a mix of championship layouts and shorter courses. It's a constant struggle for facilities to maintain a balance between booking enough tee times to make ends meet while also ensuring the course doesn't become overcrowded.

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At Golf Advisor, our reviewers don't rate the course based on a specific time it took to play 18, but rather how pleased they were with the flow of the round. That makes this rating particularly subjective, as golfers consider anything from the pace of the groups ahead to how the course layout is able to get groups around.

In total, nine of the Top 25 courses listed below found their way onto our Top 50 Overall U.S. courses in 2016: proof that pace certainly matters when golfers consider the overall experience at the course.

Brandon Tucker is the Managing Editor for Golf Advisor. To date, his golf travels have taken him to over two dozen countries and over 500 golf courses worldwide. While he's played some of the most prestigious courses in the world, Tucker's favorite way to play the game is on a great muni in under three hours. Follow Brandon on Twitter at @BrandonTucker and on Instagram at BrandonTuckerGC.